The bitter truth is that most people have never discovered their ‘ Must’. Some might have, but are still finding it hard to make the switch’.

So before we begin, here’s a quote from the inspirational writer Jon Morrow that has helped me make that switch:

If you want to succeed, you can’t wait for the world to give you attention the way a cripple waits for food stamps to arrive in the mail. You have to become a warrior. You have to attack with the madness of a mother whose child is surrounded by an army of predators.

If you want to make the switch and live the life you’ve dreamed of, there are four questions you need to answer:

Question 1: What If Doing What I Love Doesn’t Pay?

At least that’s the thought that has been holding some people back, maybe Even you. Especially if you’re still sort of looking for a way to go after your calling.

If you want to get by on earth, you must make money. If you have bills to pay or a family to look after, then you must make more money. If doing what you love doesn’t pay the bills right away, then you must find another way to make money. Period!

Finding another way to take care of the bills can create the temporal and mental space to go after your calling.

One of the greatest composers of our time, Philip Glass, didn’t earn a living from his calling, making music, until he was forty-two years old. He worked as a plumber to take care of his bills, and renewed his taxi license, just in case.

Albert Einstein struggled for two years after college before getting a desk job, reviewing patents. In his biography, Walter Isaacson wrote, ‘I came to believe that the job was a benefit to my science rather than a burden, to work in that worldly cloister where I hatched my most beautiful ideas.’

You can experiment with how you make money, while you keep your eye on your ‘Must’, optimizing your time and energy to sustain it.

While you can spend nights and weekends exploring your passion. What you don’t want is to spend your entire life in the world of ‘Should’ because here, the cost is not a financial one, the cost is your ‘Must’ life.

Question 2: Will There Be Enough Time To Do The Things I Love?

Time is the second stumbling block preventing us from going after what we love. Most of the time you make yourself promises that don’t get fulfilled, such as ‘I will make time for my calling after things settle down at the office, or when the kids go to school‘ and guess what? Those times never come, you’re always busy doing one thing or another.

Consider this: if you’re not prioritizing the things you care about, it’s possible that you don’t actually care about those things.

There’s never enough time to do everything, but there’s always enough time to do the things that are important. Your job is to find that time and make it your own.

Question 3: How Do I Find The Space?

Sometimes, you might think you don’t have the space for your ‘Must’ because you don’t have a special office or studio where you can practice and do the things you love.

But the truth is that you don’t need a large space. It might be a small room or a quiet place where all that is required are the tools you need to work.

It’s a place where you’re not available to anyone. It’s a safe space to be by yourself with no distractions. Find that place, go there alone, and do the things that matter to you!

Question 4: But What If I Fail?

Failure is the fourth stumbling block preventing you from going after your ‘Must’. You might find yourself pondering over some questions:

What if I am not good enough?

What if things never work out the way I expect them to?

and so much more!

I don’t know of any successful people who haven’t failed at one time or another. What you need is a strong determination to proceed no matter what, just like Jon mentioned earlier, “You have to attack with the madness of a mother whose child is surrounded by an army of predators.”

At first, things might not work the way you had planned, but sometimes, it’s good to fail quickly. You will learn a lot about life that way because there’s only two ways to learn in life: by your own mistakes which brings ‘ experience’ and by the mistakes of others, which brings ‘ wisdom’.

Make That Switch And Create The Life You Crave.

It might take months, years or even decades, but you must start to do something.

And even if progress is slow to start, eventually, you will achieve your dream.

7 comments

loading ...

Leave a comment:

Name *

Email *

Website

Comment

Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page.Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.